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Shakur Stevenson vs. Edwin De Los Santos
Final Press Conference
Shakur Stevenson is ready for his opportunity to become a
three-weight champ.
Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) and Dominican slugger Edwin De Los
Santos (16-1, 14 KOs) will collide for the vacant WBC
lightweight world title this Thursday, Nov. 16 at T-Mobile
Arena in Las Vegas.
In the world championship co-feature, Mexico’s Emanuel
“Vaquero” Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs) defends his WBO junior
lightweight strap against Brazilian two-time world title
challenger Robson Conceição (17-2, 8 KOs).
Stevenson-De Los Santos and Navarrete-Conceição will be
broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30
p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
The ESPN+-streamed undercard (5:40 p.m. ET/2:40 p.m. PT)
will feature a battle between unbeaten welterweights as well
as a host of emerging prospects.
Undefeated standouts Brian Norman Jr. (24-0, 19 KOs) and
Quinton Randall (13-0-1, 3 KOs) will collide in a 10-round
welterweight battle.
In an eight-round bantamweight duel between two of Las
Vegas’ top prospects, Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (9-0, 3 KOs) and
Max Ornelas (15-1-1, 5 KOs) will battle for intra-city
bragging rights,
U.S. Olympian Troy Isley (10-0, 4 KOs) steps up in class in
an eight-round middleweight fight against Mexico’s Vladimir
Hernandez (14-5, 6 KOs).
Top prospects Emiliano Fernando Vargas (7-0, 6 KOs) and Hugo
Micallef (8-0, 1 KO) will also see action in separate six-rounders.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Sampson Boxing,
tickets are on sale now via AXS.com.
At Tuesday's press conference, this is what the fighters had
to say.
Shakur Stevenson
“This means the world to me. I’ve been grinding my whole
life for these moments. I’m back in the same situation I was
before, fighting for another vacant title. I’m just here to
do what I got to do. I’m focused. I’m ready. Showtime on
Thursday.”
“My performance is based on how I feel. I’m performing for
myself. I know that if I come in at my best, I will be hard
to deal with for everybody.”
“He’s a fighter. You can tell that he has a lot of heart. It
may work against him on Thursday night. But I definitely
respect the fact that he took the fight.”
“This means a lot to me. I hope it’s a sold-out crowd. I
want all the people to tune in. I’m focused and ready.”
Edwin De Los Santos
“Like I’ve always said, I’m not here to hesitate, I’m here
to fight. As soon as we heard about the fight, we accepted
the opportunity.”
“This is something that is super exciting for me. All boxers
dream of becoming a world champion. My family is very happy,
and I know that with the help of God I am going to be
victorious, and the win will change my life.”
“On November 16, you will see an upset. Don’t be surprised.”
Emanuel Navarrete
“Robson represents an enormous threat in this fight. His
style is very difficult. He’s a fighter who has an Olympic
style. That makes it difficult for anyone with my style. But
we worked on that. We worked on that in order to make the
fight easier for me in that regard.”
"I like being active. I like working. I always like
fighting, and I take the opportunities that appear in my
career. So, basically, I just take advantage of it."
Robson Conceição
"I heard of this {fight} the day before {a scheduled fight
in September}, and I knew it was a big opportunity. And so,
I was left very happy, and I accepted immediately. The more
difficult things are for me, the better. So, I accepted
immediately."
"It’s tough to get three title opportunities. But that’s
what happened in the amateurs. It took me three attempts to
become an Olympic champion. So, the same will happen in
professional boxing.”
Brian Norman Jr.
"I carry {my father's name}. He knows the ins and outs, how
the game goes. It hasn't really been hard on me because he's
prepared me for everything. He prepared me mentally. I've
been watching and studying greats since forever. It's all I
do, still to this day. I love the greats. I love the
legends."
"I'm not going to try and rush the knockout or predict the
knockout, but I will be pushing the pace and pushing the
fight. I'm going in to do damage."
"I love this situation. I'm fighting in Vegas. I got the
perfect opponent. Like he just said, he has the mindset to
go in on Thursday now. This is my test. This is the test God
gave me. I'm good at passing tests. This is what I've been
doing my whole life."
Quinton Randall
"He's gonna get his ass whooped. {Speaking to Norman) You're
gonna get your ass whooped."
"I've been passing tests my whole life. You're a child to
me. I'm gonna beat you like one."
"You're a bum. The people you have fought are bums. You've
got 25 wins of pad work on your record."
Floyd Diaz
“You’re going to see a little different Floyd. Not only am I
back and have a new hairdo, but I’m going to show different
things ya’ll haven’t seen yet. But it’s still the same
Floyd. I want ya’ll to tune in. It’s going to be fireworks.”
Troy Isley
“Vladimir {Hernandez} is coming to fight. He’s going to
bring the fight to me. So, I’m going to show some stuff that
the world hasn’t seen. Winning this fight means I’m a
contender.”
Emiliano Fernando Vargas
“My father {former world champion Fernando Vargas} always
says that you stop growing when you stop learning. Even my
father is still learning things. I’m learning things as we
go on. In order to be the best in the sport, I have to
continue growing.”
Abdullah Mason
“I’m feeling amazing. I had a great camp. We’ve just been
keeping it going since my last fight. I’ve been pretty busy
and staying in the gym. I feel like I’m constantly getting
better and stronger. As time goes on, we’ll just keep
getting better and better.”
Hugo Micallef
“Expect fireworks. I’m a quick boxer. I’m a fast boxer. I’m
very technical. I would like to be recognized as one of the
most technical boxers in some years. So, expect fireworks
and the knockout, I hope.”
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